I'm still feeling the hole in my heart from finishing The Messenger, so this might be exactly what I'm looking for. And if you HAVEN'T played The Messenger yet, just please do it
@@KenpoJuJitsu3 a solid 7.5/10 without nostalgia goggles. The 2nd half of the game suffers from poor design and making you backtrack so much that it becomes a slog. The writing and platforming is phenomenal though.
I agree. The game, however, is absolutely fantastic. On a side note--those moths or butterfly fucking things are the bane of my existence. I cannot stand them.
So, after forty-four hours and one thousand eight-hundred deaths I can say I've completed this game. There were so many nods to so many games here, from Bloodborne to Battletoads and Metroid to Ninja Turtles, there was some real incredible work here. I also have to disagree with Brad's assessment of the story, there was a lot of love and thought put into it, that there are optional terminals to get more information at all is more than a game like this needs and evidence of the effort given here. The story feels like a combination of The Fountain and Spirited Away and I was struck by how central it is to the structure of the game. BRAVO to Mechanical Head and Yacht Club!!
If you beat this at 5,5 hours you are an action platformer demigod. At 7 hours I'm at ch8, later levels get really hard and I'm finding the parry and dash controls kinda awkward. But I will push through
I'm pretty far in but it's not what I was hoping for. The character's mobility is pretty limited. I think being able to duck and double jump would make it a lot more fun. The distance between checkpoints is often a bit too much in my opinion as well. Not a bad game but not the stand out indie title I hoped it would be.
@@danielmales123 yea, I enjoyed the messenger quite a bit. Cyber shadow is still good and the pixel art is fantastic. It's just not as good as I'd hoped.
@@danielmales123 Correct messenger is on completaly different lvl. I'm afraid that after the messenger no game will live up to the quality and freedom that the messenger gave me.
These reviews confuse me. It sounds all positive, then at the very end we get a quick "some aspects could be better" and then it gets the score. I have zero clue what aspects of this game "could be better"
Some checkpoints taking too long to get to, not much story, some people won't like no lives and continues for a pure retro challenge, no new game plus that you see in a lot of retro inspired games. I already bought it and think it looks fantastic but those are the negative things they pointed out.
I agree. I'm not super familiar with Easy Allies, but it does seem like they omit the conclusion at the end for no good reason. The only thing I can think of is they don't want to be too similar to their former employer IGN. But if you ask me, that's not the best reason. There's a reason why most reviews run through the major aspects in the conclusion at the end of the review (to go with the score), and Easy Allies seems to ignore that
The Messenger is the biggest elephant in the room that no-one mentions with this game. This doesn't look like a metroidvania structure but I was getting tired of The Messenger toward the end & this is yet another multiple power up 8 bit ninja game! Level structure aside, how does it compare?
Would have bought it if the messenger didn't release so short before this. The game (8-bit portion) Looks exactly the same as Cyber Shadow. I'm not feeling the urge to invest in another 8 bit ninja game
First we need it to return in 3D and be great. Maybe they can do it Curse of the Moon style, have a three hour long 8bit promotional game ahead of the 3D one.
Reteo games gave you way less cheese deaths than this game. Getting shot at by enemies that aren't even on the screen all while platform jumping , wall sliding with spiked walls and health drops nowhere to be found. It's not hard , just the developers want people to smash their brand new ps5 controllers l
I just got a Series controller, playing on PC, and it is a really great D-pad. Too bad Ghifari77 didn't want to say which controller they thought was best for 2D gaming...
I find it funny that gamers complain about no originality and the saturation of certain genres (like open world games), yet I never see any complaints about these retro-style, side-scrolling action games that people have been copy/pasting for 40 YEARS. Are we over the nostalgia yet?
No, we're not over it. Every time a video like this one is posted people like you show up that are "over" retro games in spite of never playing them, so you must be blind if you "never see any complaints" like yours. It should be no skin off your back anyhow, these retro games tend to be tiny budget games for a niche audience. Soon you'll forget the name Cyber Shadow if you don't play it (but you should play it, it's on Game Pass), but even if you never touch a big budget open world game you won't be allowed to forget it exists. The problem with big budget open world games is their ubiquity and that each one is designed to monopolize your time. I say this as somebody who likes open world games but we've been copy/pasting GTA3 for 20 YEARS, and that would be fine if they were small budget games for niche audiences, but they aren't. How much experience do you have anyhow with NES style games?
@@charoleawood I really do hardly see any mention or complaints of recycled retro-style games. People just love the nostalgia, and I get it. I love me some nostalgia, too, but you gotta look at things objectively. Never complain about another open world game or a walking sim, while you're playing the 647 millionth retro side-scroller I have played many NES style games, and they're fun. I don't have a problem with them existing, per say. I guess I just have issue with the hypocrisy of many "gamers" when it comes to complaining about a lack of originality, yet they gobble this stuff up. That's all.
Perhaps it's like the Bloodborne attitude toward shields, crouching "Engenders passivity". Maybe Ninja Gaiden speed runners don't use crouching much, I don't know. I've been playing Cyber Shadow and it doesn't feel as though crouching is a technique that has been removed, rather the whole game has been built so that the player never has to crouch. I do think it would be a nice thing to patch in, but surely the developer would fear that it borks the game. I play normal Souls more aggressively than Bloodborne anyhow because I CAN block but FromSoft never asked ME about it, clearly they were looking at those players who used it as a crutch, surely it was the same with Aarne Hunziker and the design of Cyber Shadow.
I've played a tiny bit of this game so far and this game doesn't deserve an 8. the controls don't feel as responsive as it should be. I kept dying a lot for the dumbest reasons, maybe cuz i'm just bad at this game. I wish i can enjoy this as much as The Messenger or Celeste. It's challenging but not in a fun way.
This is NOT a ninja gaiden tribute, this is a shadow of the ninja tribute. Every. Single. Review. gets this wrong. Shows that the review crowd is getting younger when they didnt grow up playing NES.
In love with this game. It's really hitting on all fronts for me.
Couldn't recommend it enough if anyone's on the edge of their decision.
I'm still feeling the hole in my heart from finishing The Messenger, so this might be exactly what I'm looking for. And if you HAVEN'T played The Messenger yet, just please do it
Messenger really that good?
@@KenpoJuJitsu3 a solid 7.5/10 without nostalgia goggles. The 2nd half of the game suffers from poor design and making you backtrack so much that it becomes a slog. The writing and platforming is phenomenal though.
@@mrdan523 yea I loved the gameplay of the messenger, especially the boss fights. But the second half was pretty annoying and confusing.
@@KenpoJuJitsu3 Its good, until it turns into a metroidvania imo...
@@reed1645 sounds like resident evil 7 boat
This is classic Ninja Gaiden with modern features rolled into one, Definitely a buy for those who are a fan of action sidescrollers back in the days
Its also on Gamepass, dont necessarily have to buy it.
@@mwmrhdm Only for a limited time before it gets rotated out,
Nice. Welcoming this review before I finish it. Thanks for covering it.
Only a couple stages in but loving this game so far. I definitely agree that some sections between checkpoints drag on too long.
I agree. The game, however, is absolutely fantastic. On a side note--those moths or butterfly fucking things are the bane of my existence. I cannot stand them.
@@nerdfather7361 oh yeah fuck those bugs
Brad, Don and Jones...
After finishing the video; totally going to pick this up. Thanks, guys.
Chapter 7, 5 hours in (at least 3 to go...for me at least), loving the challenge!
I just finished the game today. What. Debut for Mechanical Head games.
So, after forty-four hours and one thousand eight-hundred deaths I can say I've completed this game. There were so many nods to so many games here, from Bloodborne to Battletoads and Metroid to Ninja Turtles, there was some real incredible work here.
I also have to disagree with Brad's assessment of the story, there was a lot of love and thought put into it, that there are optional terminals to get more information at all is more than a game like this needs and evidence of the effort given here. The story feels like a combination of The Fountain and Spirited Away and I was struck by how central it is to the structure of the game.
BRAVO to Mechanical Head and Yacht Club!!
The soundtrack in this game sounds great
I want to try this game. It's hard to find time with a backlog. Thanks for the review.
Just buy it later on sale 😉
Same
It's on Game Pass
It's pretty short and it's on Gamepass 100% recommend giving it a try
I don't have Xbox or Game pass but will buy it later. Finishing up Ghost of Tsushima, Demon's Souls, P5 Royal, Nioh 2, Days Gone lol
I'm kind of curious to know if a NES Controller is Compatible to these 8 bit style games or at least an SNES Cotroller???
If you beat this at 5,5 hours you are an action platformer demigod. At 7 hours I'm at ch8, later levels get really hard and I'm finding the parry and dash controls kinda awkward. But I will push through
Great review. Game is an easy 9/10 for me!
I'm pretty far in but it's not what I was hoping for. The character's mobility is pretty limited. I think being able to duck and double jump would make it a lot more fun.
The distance between checkpoints is often a bit too much in my opinion as well. Not a bad game but not the stand out indie title I hoped it would be.
The messenger might be better for you
@@danielmales123 yea, I enjoyed the messenger quite a bit.
Cyber shadow is still good and the pixel art is fantastic. It's just not as good as I'd hoped.
@@danielmales123 Correct messenger is on completaly different lvl. I'm afraid that after the messenger no game will live up to the quality and freedom that the messenger gave me.
What no ducking? No buy.
Then it seems to play in line with classic NES Ninja Gaiden
Holy shit, not only this game seem great, but its soundtrack alone is truly amazing.
It's on Game Pass, I've been playing it, it is pretty great
Enjoying this post messenger. Reminds me of shinobi 3.
Is this one of those 1 man made games? Good job.
When is the release date a Physical copy for ps4 i need this game on disk
Is there a search box in easy allies website? Sometimes I wanna watch old videos and Innis pretty annoying scrolling through a long list of videos
Does it work on UA-cam mobile app? Because I can't find any search function
Batman NES vibes!
To everybody who likes these kinds of games, I can highly recommend Primal Light.
Gonna hijack this and add Blue Shadow (Shadow of the Ninja) to it o/ it's an old NES game with Mega Man difficulty.
These reviews confuse me. It sounds all positive, then at the very end we get a quick "some aspects could be better" and then it gets the score. I have zero clue what aspects of this game "could be better"
Some checkpoints taking too long to get to, not much story, some people won't like no lives and continues for a pure retro challenge, no new game plus that you see in a lot of retro inspired games. I already bought it and think it looks fantastic but those are the negative things they pointed out.
I agree. I'm not super familiar with Easy Allies, but it does seem like they omit the conclusion at the end for no good reason. The only thing I can think of is they don't want to be too similar to their former employer IGN. But if you ask me, that's not the best reason. There's a reason why most reviews run through the major aspects in the conclusion at the end of the review (to go with the score), and Easy Allies seems to ignore that
@@mrredisa.d.d.8566
Easy Allies was never employed by IGN
@@charoleawood
lol right. I was like......
What I miss
@@mrredisa.d.d.8566 They weren't ever employed by IGN. Their former website was Gametrailers.
This will be my next game after I finish ‘ Hades’.
Oh yeh of little knowledge. This game is obviously based on Blue Shadow, one of my favorite NES games ever.
I'm in love with this game. It's so good. Now...can we get a new Shinobi game???(preferably something like Shinobi 3)
check out both bushiden and moonrider that are coming out in the future.
@@kollatt Wow...i just looked it up. I am very hyped for Bushiden!
The Messenger is the biggest elephant in the room that no-one mentions with this game. This doesn't look like a metroidvania structure but I was getting tired of The Messenger toward the end & this is yet another multiple power up 8 bit ninja game! Level structure aside, how does it compare?
I agree. I looooove the messenger but at the end it was dragging.
I liked The Messenger's gameplay more, but this is still good.
The nostalgia
Yikes: Took me 15.5 hours my first time. I did go back to earlier levels a few times to get power ups, though.
44 hours for me
3:45 I'm 4 hours in and on the 4th boss, weird flex, but ok
Looks like the NES Shinobi game. I done that era and wouldnt pay to relive it in 2021
8radley Ellis.
Awesome game but the last levels are a tad too demanding for me. Maybe needs simpler controls or esay mode? Anyway, its a great game! :D
It’s kind of difficult. Which isn’t a bad thing. Or maybe I’m just old.
I'm 42 and I'm managing.
Reminds me of The Messenger.
Same
Would have bought it if the messenger didn't release so short before this. The game (8-bit portion) Looks exactly the same as Cyber Shadow. I'm not feeling the urge to invest in another 8 bit ninja game
Yaaaaay I like video games!!
This game is THA BOMB
Why can't we get a retro Ninja garden 4?
First we need it to return in 3D and be great. Maybe they can do it Curse of the Moon style, have a three hour long 8bit promotional game ahead of the 3D one.
watch this channel that guy has another one on which he makes streams he create fan game ninja gaiden
ua-cam.com/video/_WuDzcZu7YU/v-deo.html
Thank God for Game Pass
GRAY FOX!!!
Reteo games gave you way less cheese deaths than this game. Getting shot at by enemies that aren't even on the screen all while platform jumping , wall sliding with spiked walls and health drops nowhere to be found. It's not hard , just the developers want people to smash their brand new ps5 controllers l
Good game so far
I've been playing this on Gamepass and lemme tell you, the Xbox Series controller is THE way to play 2D games. Best dpad since the Vita.
the position is wrong tho
I just got a Series controller, playing on PC, and it is a really great D-pad. Too bad Ghifari77 didn't want to say which controller they thought was best for 2D gaming...
I find it funny that gamers complain about no originality and the saturation of certain genres (like open world games), yet I never see any complaints about these retro-style, side-scrolling action games that people have been copy/pasting for 40 YEARS. Are we over the nostalgia yet?
No, we're not over it. Every time a video like this one is posted people like you show up that are "over" retro games in spite of never playing them, so you must be blind if you "never see any complaints" like yours.
It should be no skin off your back anyhow, these retro games tend to be tiny budget games for a niche audience. Soon you'll forget the name Cyber Shadow if you don't play it (but you should play it, it's on Game Pass), but even if you never touch a big budget open world game you won't be allowed to forget it exists.
The problem with big budget open world games is their ubiquity and that each one is designed to monopolize your time. I say this as somebody who likes open world games but we've been copy/pasting GTA3 for 20 YEARS, and that would be fine if they were small budget games for niche audiences, but they aren't.
How much experience do you have anyhow with NES style games?
@@charoleawood I really do hardly see any mention or complaints of recycled retro-style games. People just love the nostalgia, and I get it. I love me some nostalgia, too, but you gotta look at things objectively. Never complain about another open world game or a walking sim, while you're playing the 647 millionth retro side-scroller
I have played many NES style games, and they're fun. I don't have a problem with them existing, per say. I guess I just have issue with the hypocrisy of many "gamers" when it comes to complaining about a lack of originality, yet they gobble this stuff up. That's all.
@@savageplanet8299
Well, I'm playing the game right now because of this review, you should check it out too
Its the first Ninja Game without chrouch and i dont like that. Ninja Gaiden, Shadow of the Ninja, Shinobi etc. all of them have chrouch.
Perhaps it's like the Bloodborne attitude toward shields, crouching "Engenders passivity". Maybe Ninja Gaiden speed runners don't use crouching much, I don't know.
I've been playing Cyber Shadow and it doesn't feel as though crouching is a technique that has been removed, rather the whole game has been built so that the player never has to crouch.
I do think it would be a nice thing to patch in, but surely the developer would fear that it borks the game.
I play normal Souls more aggressively than Bloodborne anyhow because I CAN block but FromSoft never asked ME about it, clearly they were looking at those players who used it as a crutch, surely it was the same with Aarne Hunziker and the design of Cyber Shadow.
Checkpoints? 5 hours? Great so tired of these long games that require a life commitment to beat.
So, a Bradley Ellis 9
The odd # achievements in this game i swear. All 16 and 31 it obligates you to get a full 1000 to get it even so pass. the messenger was far better
Weird thing to get hung up on.
I've played a tiny bit of this game so far and this game doesn't deserve an 8. the controls don't feel as responsive as it should be. I kept dying a lot for the dumbest reasons, maybe cuz i'm just bad at this game. I wish i can enjoy this as much as The Messenger or Celeste. It's challenging but not in a fun way.
It’s hard to judge a game after a “tiny” amount of gameplay. I’d recommend giving it another shot!
It gets better the more you play it.
Well I'm glad I finished it before watching this. So many spoilers lol
This is NOT a ninja gaiden tribute, this is a shadow of the ninja tribute. Every. Single. Review. gets this wrong. Shows that the review crowd is getting younger when they didnt grow up playing NES.
Games like this need a physical release day one. Digital only is a waste.